This regards Dolores Campbell’s latest letter (Those depending on renewal in the Catholic Church left frustrated, Nov. 26). I found it very dismal, negative and inaccurate on many points.

I do not think that the bishops chosen to attend the recent synod were to give a “sort of state of the diocese address” as Campbell alleges. Rather, they were to express an insight into “new evangelization.” Obviously, they would have to draw on experiences and consultations in their own dioceses to determine what to say. They were elected as representatives of the episcopal conferences.

The official synod document has not been issued. This is expected to be promulgated six months to a year after the synod, by Pope Benedict XVI, in the form of an apostolic exhortation. So, I do not know what Campbell means when she says “the document published at the end of the synod reads as if it had been written before the synod began, and gives very little recognition to (Bishop Brian) Dunn’s concerns and those of his people back home.”

What “document” does she mean? She seems to be confused. The synod’s resolutions have been made public, and these will form the basis for the exhortation. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., the “relator general” of the synod, did present a summary, but this is not the official document which represents the final report. We have to wait for that before arriving at any conclusions or offering any criticisms.

Campbell also discusses the ordination into some ministries, such as lectors and acolytes, noting that they exclude women. She writes: “There’s probably some subtle but significant theological distinction ...” The distinction is anything but subtle. I would suggest that she read the text of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic letter of Aug. 15, 1972, which she can Google, and come to a clearer understanding before she writes about it.

Rev. Greg MacLeod has said: “Women should definitely become deacons and eventually they should become priests.” He and others who call for the ordination of women are doing a great disservice to women in the long run.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared: “Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force. Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”

The Catholic Church’s catechism states: “The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible.”

The Holy See was asked whether this church teaching belongs to the deposit of faith (which means it cannot be changed). When the present pope was prefect of the doctrine of faith, he said: “This teaching requires definitive assent, since founded on the written word of God and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibility by the ordinary and universal magesterium.”

Women will not be ordained priests or deacons now or in the near future. Those who promote such ordinations have no real true understanding of the theology of holy orders. Instead, lay people will be upset with the church because some people have misled them. Some will respond to this and spin their own views, but, in the end, they will be responsible for the discontent and confusion of the Catholic people.

When it comes to the issue of sexual abuse of minors by clerics, great efforts have been made to address the matter, especially in our own diocese. The pope has very directly and without any reservation addressed this issue and apologized many times in a most public way to all victims. He met personally with many.

The pope ordered all dioceses to have mandatory guidelines in place for anyone who works with minors. They must have criminal background checks.

Campbell also states: “Yet we’re told to ‘forget Rome’ and just continue to practise what Christ taught in the Gospels ...” Who told her that?

Any renewal must remain faithful to the gospel of Christ and the teachings of the church. It must begin with the individual, and then our parishes and diocese will truly be renewed.

We must maintain open minds, but those minds must be filled with optimism, informed and correct knowledge on the subject, and a positive attitude, not like that which Campbell seems to express and promote in her many letters to the editor.

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Charity is Truth

December 06, 2012 - 12:11

In a spirit of charity I would like to extend an olive branch of peace to all the disgruntled, disgusted,misinformed and ignorant reponders below.
To Big Contradiction and others alike, before you start to spew accusations about what the catholic church does, it might benefit you to do some truthful reading and information searching on what our church really does and has done throughout history. She has stood the test of time and will always remain standing, the gates of hades will not prevail against her. It's soul purpose is to spread the truths of the gospels, distribute the sacraments to help aid souls on their journey in this world and do works of charity hopefully to help one get to heaven. In spite of the countless hospitals, colleges, orphanages, science, social and equal rights advancements throughout the centuries and numerous charitable accomplishments, ironically it has sinners within so it is a hospital for sinners and a place of refuge if you will.
The catholic church does not interpret the Bible in many ways,I believe you are confusing Her with the over forty thousand odd protestant denominations.
Fr. O'Neill is not laying the law down, we all have free will, he is just stating the dogma of the church which Jesus instituted, its there for you to hear and read( let those who have eyes to see and ears to hear see and listen respectively).
The catholic church has the vicar of Christ (our great pope) and the magisterium to interpret the bible. Remember also the church was instituted by Jesus long before the bible was ispired by the Holy Spirit.
For those who are bible believers only (sola scriptura) and don't believe in tradition or the magisterium then read Mathew 28 and pay particular attention to verses 18-20 (" teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you")
Also might I suggest the catechism of the catholic church or perhaps writings of the fathers of the church. The lives of the saints are real eye and mind openers worth their weight in gold. If you find these too hard for starters then Catholicism for Dummies by Father John Trigillio may be the right place to start.
God Bless you all and may He open your hearts and minds to the truth..

Good for you Father Patrick.If Our Lord Jesus wanted women ordained as priests I would think the first woman he would have chosen would be our Blessed mother Mary.I think feminism has gone overboard.I certainly would not be attending a church with a woman saying mass and I would not go to confession.Maybe they would do away with sin.

The problem with church doctrine is that there is a vacum currently existing in terms of a theology that is artucualted with a philosophy that is too focused on concepts that are limiting and dont take into a account a real sense of life. The remanants of scholastic theology still exist and although Vatican II ushered in a new openess to dialoque and theological study the narrow minded neo-scholastiticism is still taught in seminaries. Church authorites are defensive and not promoting open discussion and consulation. I am not advocating plualism and I beleive that Catholic and Christian teaching must be see through the the light of Faith. New understanding of the Christian mysteries is needed. Philosophy(way of thinking) is cricial in expressing the christian doctrine. The Church has not ketp up with current philosophy, psychology and science, it has always struggled with this. It has always tended to look to the past concepts and taken a defensive authoritarian approach. Vatican II may have open the doors a bit but there remians a polarization in the Church between progressives and conservatives both who go to far. We need to cultivate an openess to a new way of thinking , a new philosophy. It is risky and fraught with difficulties but our faith is a living faith and not a concept. One does not have to deny doctrines but the church can endeavor to understand the christian mysteries in the light of the day and not in mediaevil light. Conservatives like Father Patrick are squeeving the life out of faith. The old theological and philosophical language has collapsed leaving us facing a serious crisis. The Roman Church needs to become less eurocentric and more global, more Catholic(universal). Vatican II while a breath of fresh air has left us with a crisis of identity. It will will take leadership from the hierarchy and it doesn' t seem promising that we are going to get this. A deeper reflection on the teaching of the mysteries in the light of a way of thinking that is contemporary and take sinto account the tremendous advances that we have made as a socity is needed. We should not be afraid of this as reason never contradicts faith. Why are Church leaders then being so unreasonable and not taking steps to better understand what christiasn around the world are telling them. We need a church that has a faith based on good reasoning but even more importantly one that is based on Love. Common sense tells us that material and spiritual world as we experience them are not dual and we need to rid this Church of the ancient mediaevil thinking. The doctrine of original sin and subsequent teaching on sexuality is based on a way of thinking and philosophy that was western, medievil and eurocentric. It needs to be understood in the light of faith as experienced today while remaining faithful to the Catholic Church. There is to much empasis on our fallen nature as human beings because of Adama and Eves sin. We may need redemption but we may not be as sinfull as the Church has traditionally understood. Many Bishops and Priest of of Rome are failing us in that they are responsible for the articualtion of the faith in the world. They have been so neglfgent and exhibit such bad judgement . Imagine making a decsion to cover up sexual abuse of an innocent child to protect "the church" where there decsion should have been guided by Christs love to protect the child and and bring the abuser to justice. This is just one example of how the thinking must change. Theologians like Father Greg are on the right track in that at least they are they are seeking the truth and dealing with reality.

Lord Have Mercy

December 05, 2012 - 08:05

“The main doctrine of a fanatic's creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God” - Rev Andrew White

Speaking from the point of view of a 'man', your argument, and the RCC's, is terribly flawed. "SEED of life"!? Really!? This is simply about male superiority, nothing else. A seed is absolutely and utterly useless without a medium in which to grow. Men have been envious since the first time we figured out that women are the only ones who can bear and give birth to a child. It is as simple as that! God did not choose a man to be the father of Jesus, he instead chose a woman to bear and give birth to the Son of God!
Even as child, I knew that the church’s position was based on some crazy male-oriented bias. When RCs get all indignant about Islam and its treatment of women, remember these crazy beliefs and you will know where that brand of hatred comes from.

With all due respect, this comment makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. That said, men cannot have babies. Women cannot be priests. That's the facts of life. A man is not a woman. Period.

jm

December 05, 2012 - 11:40

You just made the same argument I made. Women can't have children by themselves. Neither can men. They need BOTH. It has nothing to do with superiority, it's about functionality. By ourselves we cannot create life. You need both members (male and female and God himself. The Church is the female and priest is the male which brings spiritual children home to God. Your personal bias is obviously clouding your judgement. There's no jealousy anywhere...it's about how God made us and our roles according to his will, not ours

SW

December 04, 2012 - 22:07

I think it's about time to stop on both sides......how about a little quiet reflection.

Well done Patrick!, or should i say Bishop Patrick,,lets replace this current(bishop) one, who sold out for his 30 pieces of silver, these dissenters on here wouldn't attend mass even if their own mother or grand mother was saying mass,...lol...so LET THEM GO!!...lets get back to the real mass,,,before 1965!!!!....latin only for this MIC!!

Thank you Fr Patrick! Wonderful to see your article!!!!
Lets get one thing straight. This issue is not an issue of superiority it's one of functionality. The male provides the seed to being about life. This seed is the Word of God or Jesus Christ. Females cannot provide the seed to bring about life. She is the receptacle as Mary was. If anyone had a claim to priesthood it is Mary but you didnt see her making headlines crying "womens rights". It is the role of the woman to love, nourish, protect, nurture and give life to the Word of God. The Church is this woman. If we have women priests we would have a homosexual union and in that act there is no possibility of life. This women's rights nonsense has to stop. The priesthood is a gift not a right. Not all men are called to the priesthood and nobody has a right to it. If any of you ask a priest if he is entitled to his priesthood i guarantee he will say NO. It is a gift just like children and marriage. Nobody is entitled to these things but rather God chooses them for this ministry. Well done Fr Patrick!

For those of the faithful who have asked aloud, "Why have so many people turned their back on the Church?”, Mr. Patrick J. O’Neill's letter answers that question once and for all. It would seem that the Church doesn't like when the ladies get all uppity about becoming priests or their 'place' in the church. As well, if the church sees women in only this limiting light, why not just make them stay at home cooking while their husbands go to Mass?
I witnessed the power wielded by priests as a child and I personally recall being 'put in my place' by the then Bishop Power (you remember him...the guy in charge during the majority of the pedophilic child abuse that the church attempted to cover-up) when I asked a simple question about the role of faith in abusive situations. That was all that I needed to move from 'lapsed' to 'see ya later!'

What else can you expect from the catholic church. we all know how they view the average parishioner, also who wrote all these so called teaching or doctrines MEN . Women are a threat to priests and they do not plan on allowing them into their realm. I have no idea why any educated person would even have an interest in the catholic church , it is corrupt, money grabbing powerful organization and are above the law of the land in all countries as they are so rich and powerful. Believe me they are not interested in your well being as we have witnessed with the recent sex scandal and the selling off all the halls, buildings, lands etc. built and paid for by the local people , while Rome is filthy rich. I rest my case. Women would not want to be sullied by belonging to such an organization.

there seems to be an irrational bitterness towards catholicism these days, why are people so quick to jump on the band wagon of criticizing and judging the catholic church which like it or not was and is comissioned by christ, if we believe christ instituted the church, giving the keys of the kingdom to Peter, then we must accept or reject the authority of christ in The Catholic Church, If we accept that authority, we cannot pick and choose the teachings of the church. We must accept them all or none. Truth is truth because it does not bow to anyone. Many Catholics are tired of special interest groups trying to sabotage the church with their agendas. Lets thank God for the Catholic Church. The Bride of Christ on earth. May God Bless Us All This Christmas.

JuniperMountain

December 03, 2012 - 23:52

So we pick and choose, do we? We pick those parts of the bible that suit the old, antiquated and outdated arguments while ignoring other parts that do not suit a particular theology? I would like the letter writer to explain to us why the Roman Catholic church is so afraid of women? Explain to us how a female priest would go against God's wishes? Ah, all of it is so ridiculous. And really, just silly and sad. Are priests called to service through their genitalia? No logic. It is time to admit that tradition is not right just because it is tradition.

Well you heard it folks.The church has made its mind up and Father Pat has conveyed the message...I have been telling my daughters that they are equal in every way yet the Catholic church disagrees.I guess the Catholic Church and the backward thinking of its priests and Bishops right up to the Pope are the reason for declining attendance across Canada.

I don't think anybody believes any of this hocus pokus anymore after all the priests getting caught with their pants down so many times.

Senior Citizen

December 03, 2012 - 18:09

"Lord have mecy" I'm with you. After living on this earth for 70 years I thank God that Medicine and Health Care have NOT progressed at the same rate as the Catholic Church. I remember seeing a poster in my younger years that read "Age Is Wisdom... Listen ! Maybe someone could give it to Fr.O'neil.

THIS DAY and AGE WOMEN are equal to men , the church is VERY SEXIST against women ,that's enough to turn off women in educating their children about the church and GOD if the church dont believe that, they are making a BIG mistake,its usually the mother that look after the children and raise them , The bible was written by men from day one and changed over centuries to suit men , it would be a rainy day in HELL if I were told by a priest or a man to sit down and shut up in church if I had something to say ,( no matter what the bible says )I was raised on the bible , where is it said in the Bible that it says that any one( Priests ) that preaches the Bible cant get married ????? what kind of a God would put one sex over another?????? the bible was changed to make men feel powerful over a women ,Time changes a lot of things in this world and its time the church changes along with it ,if it dont there wont be any churches, they will all meet the wrecking ball.as it is there are locks on the doors of the churches, you cant just walk in and have some quite time in the church like we used to , I am 74 years old , I have went to a lot of different churches of different religions over the years ,the Catholic one was Not one of my faverate churches to go to .You dont need to go to church to be a good person,( to be good to others and be there to help others) .its eight er in you to be a good person or its not ,the bible will not change a person in any way .religion is only to keep people under control, if there were more women as priests in the catholic churches it more then likely would not be the mess the church is in now . The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world . The Catholic church has lost its power and control over the people ,people are smarter this day and age .Priests are no longer looked on as GODS.. just had to say this .

Thank you Father!
The Church may have failed many people by not catechizing them properly on too many issues, but it is time for people to stop judging the Church by their silly notions of it rather than what the Church actually teaches and believes. As someone who tries hard to understand what the Church teaches I am disappointed by some of the comments on the article. Please, give up your silly notions on priesthood as power and see it as service, even if some ridiculous men have abused their office, and seek to understand how much the Church actually values women, from the only person ever born without original sin, to the immense value we see placed on them in the new testament to the countless female saints from every century, including this one. Yet somehow the Church is sexist? Poor Mother of God! Learn the truth and come home where you will be welcome! Yes, the Church might shrink and crumble, but only as the rest of society does. One can already see the greater amount of crumbling and shrinking in the Churches that have accepted all these silly modern ideas like women priests and gay marriage. I think a lot of the "older" people don't realize how much young people are excited by what the Church actually teaches, and while we would prefer people of every age to learn what the Church actually teaches, the fact is most of the older people are going to die first and the only people left will be the young ones who care and want to stay. It won't die however few there are, people should know something about the history of the Church during Roman times? To that logic it should have died out and started worshiping Zeus or someone.
It's too bad the critics of the Church don't realize how much they contradict each other. Everyone knows we don't read the bible, so why all of a sudden we are accused of following it on ordination and gay marriage? If people realized that so many attacks on the Catholic Church actually contradicted each other they might come to realize the only thing left that wasn't contradictory is what the Church actually teaches! You don't have to like the Church people, but seriously wouldn't you want someone to give you the benefit of the doubt about what you were saying before they set their hearts against you? Just try learning what she teaches!
Thank you!

"...these silly modern ideas like...gay marriage". Andrew, I think you mean "...these silly modern ideas like basic human/civil rights." Nice to see the ugly side of support for the Church is alive and well on the Post forum and seeping through all these sanctimonious "make no demands" comments being posted here. Disgusting.

Charie Bennett

December 03, 2012 - 16:16

Whether people like it, accept it or reject it; truth is truth. You can spin a lie all you want but it will never be truth. Father Patrick is truly a Man of God. He is living out his calling and faithful to his ordination. The deposit of faith that was given to Peter is being upheld..End of discussion. Many didn't like other traditions before and they started their own Church only to discover they don't like that Church and go to another Church. Why? Because of things like Pride, Their motto is "I will not serve unless". You see my good people, you can never come to Christ fully with demands, conditions or other. You must come with humility and until you do, you will run away from each and every Church you walk into with some poor excuse why you can't be part of it....You want answers, get on your knees and seek him.
Thank you Father Patrick and any other Priest in this Diocese who doesn't accept the status Quo becuase it gets more dinner invites or hand shakes or offers to work Cursillos. Its you who truly shepherd our Souls..

Thank you Fr. Patrick! Finally a reasoned and factual response to the confusion the poor Bishop of Antigonish and others in some positions in the church are spewing! May the Good Lord, have mercy on them for the damage they are doing! I get a kick out of a few of the comments above talking about the need for women to be priest for the church to survive....not to even get into the theological issues...how did that help the protestant churches? It didn't ... if you look at the catholic church, even in areas where priests are true to the church..even Halifax, it is growing in many ways! truth is received when it's proclaimed! may God Bless Fr. Patrick for his courage and faithfulness!

Good for you, Father Patrick O'Neil..hats off to you, for being and proclaiming and teaching and living just who you are a Roman Catholic Priest...my prayer to the Good Lord is give us more priests like you who are unafraid, unashamed, and not cowering in the face of media and a culture who hate the Catholic Church...because it is the voice of truth and you represent Him well...we are so sick of the fluff that has been trying to be shoved down our throats the last 50 years...we know the difference between Mother of Pearl and Mother of Plastic..ergo...we know in our hearts what is true and what is false...and the Church is going to be if not already divided right down the middle..those who are in the bark of Peter and those who are not...we know the ones who are not...poor Ms. Campbell and Greg MacLeod(and those of his ilk - who are very much mistaken indeed) they would be wise unlike Martin Luther to admit their wrong doing and go to confession, be forgiven, and restored to the good Graces our Blessed Lord wants to give those who are wrong...it's us in our terrible awful human pride who echo the words of Genesis "Non Servorum" ..it's the same today only clothed in politically correct language and crazy ideas that so many have bought into...we are indeed a pitiful people if we do not proclaim and fight for the truth...Catholics are born to fight for truth...and too many have laid down and died and compromise for the sake of $$$$$$ for sure and in order to be accepted and liked...it's the Gospel without compromise or nothing at all...Good for you, Father Patrick..Good for you...you speak truth..it's Mother of Pearl and not the Mother of Plastic of Ms. Campbell or Greg MacLeod ...and we know it

Fr. O'Neil; Manyy, many thanks to you and our brave priests who will speak the truth. Deo Gratias!
"Any renewal must remain faithful to the gospel of Christ and the teachings of the church. It must begin with the individual, and then our parishes and diocese will truly be renewed." - The proclaimed year of faith by Pope Benedict XVI, brings much hope. I pray that all catholics will LEARN the true teachings of the catholic church, grow spiritually and love Her. It saddens me to see people who call themselves catholic but are ignorant of what is really taught and believed and are unaware of the church's beauty.There is absolutely no reason for such ignorance of scriptures and Jesus today, Numerous authentic resources are available to learn the catholic faith, it is the great priceless pearl.
For far too long we've had a watered down version of our faith pushed down our throats by dissenters from within.The statement printed in the article posted on Nov. 26th, " no dissenters need apply" says it all, these self professed dissenters don't know or love the true faith and have only their own interpretations and agenda to promote.If they are dissenting because of the teachings then why do they even want to belong, go join another denominations.
The church is not discriminatory or misogynistic, no other creature had a greater role in history than "The Woman". Whatever has caused dissenters to abandon or turn their backs on church teachings is not worth jeopardizing their eternity.The catholic church recognizes this and so should they.

You're right. Everything is going great for the Catholic Church and they should hold the line, resist any suggestion of change, in fact, let's return to the Latin Mass.
So tell me again when Sacred Heart and St. Anthony Daniel churches face the wrecking ball? Next year, you say? I wonder why that might be?
P.S. I am in no way criticizing Fr. O'Neill, just suggesting that it is literally a case of change or die for this church. If the second option is the "faithful"'s preference, so be it.

Bring it back, PLEASE

December 03, 2012 - 13:23

I would welcome a return to the Latin Mass! I always wondered why it was no longer offered at the monastery after a brief period. I went once & was shaken to the core by the beauty of it and had plans to attend once a month. Then it mysteriously vanished.....such a shame

Big Contradiction

December 03, 2012 - 10:52

Fr. O'Neill has laid down the law according to the Bible, which is often interpreted in MANY ways by the church. Few Catholics or clergy actually believe in the literal translation of the Bible. Why are they so adamant in this regard. And people think that Islam is offensive and backward. The church will never allow women to become priests because they cannot " Marry" the church. What about gays? I know many excellent and dedicated men who are priests. Why did the church accept them into the priest hood? They cannot 'Marry" into the church either because "Gay marriages" are considered immoral by the church. Could Fr, O'Neill please explain this obvious counterdiction for me or is his letter " Gospel? "

Have Fr. O'Neill and the leaders of the Catholic Church ever heard of a Pyrhhic Victory? I hope that when they are standing alone in crumbling churches, preaching to seas of empty pews, that they can take comfort in the fact that they stuck to their guns and won this argument. Or will they realise too late that without people there is no church and will they regret not listening to the pleas for change from those who sustained this organisation for so long?
I fear I know the answer already.

Without Holy priests, there is no Church. Father O'Neill is one of the holiest priests we have here & he is doing a great service in explaining the why's of things. If it doesn't suit a person to hear the truth, too bad!

CB ATHEIST

December 03, 2012 - 11:08

It is right there in black and white in the bible. If women have questions in church, they should stay silent and ask their husband when they get home.

CB ATHEIST

December 03, 2012 - 08:09

I have to agree with Father Patrick on this one. Here is the relevant versus in the bible:
Timothy 2: I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent
Corinthians 14: As in all the congregations of the saints,
34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.
35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
If the Lord says women have to shut up in churches, they have to shut up. Obviously, I would add that no reasonable self respecting women, or man, should honour or follow such an backward, infantile, evil belief system. But if you believe the bible is the word of god, those versus are in every translation so Father Patrick is correct.

"He and others who call for the ordination of women are doing a great disservice to women in the long run."
Oh please continue to pat women on the head and patronise us. "...lay people will be upset with the church because some people have misled them. Some will respond to this and spin their own views, but, in the end, they will be responsible for the discontent and confusion of the Catholic people." You seem to have very little faith in your own flock, Father. It's this kind of refusal to evolve that led me to abandon the Catholic faith in the first place.

The church is plainly sexist. And I for one, will not go because I am discriminated against just because I am a woman. Whatever the reasonings, when you break it down that is what it comes to. Sexism. And the disadvantages/advantages of women/men.

The Catholic Church doesn't really have any choice but to put women in the position of second class citizens once they read their holy book which states plainly "it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church". If the word of god is that they can't speak - they can't speak. If god wanted to change it and allow women to speak in church, he would come back down in someone's dream and say "just forget about that Timothy Chapter". I am always perplexed how any woman can say they believe in such a philosophy but many do and the bible is the word of god so suck it up.
The same goes for gays that believe in this stuff. The bible clearly prohibits homosexual conduct, it is a capital offence apparently according to Deuteronomy, yet many gays say they are Christian even becoming priests.

those who disagree with father patricks statements and teaching on this matter ultimately disagree with the holy Spirit who is the author of ALL TRUTH, We cannot claim equality with GOD. To do so is to become a servant of satan and an enemy of the very one who was crucified for us. Lets humble ourselves and believe the teaching magisterium of our holy catholic church which christ instituted in the chair of Peter. Christ did not come to deceive us. Lets trust him and prove our loyalty and friendship to the Holy Trinity. Thanks be to god for Fr Patrick.